Define the dispute
Identify its exact nature regarding the Statement of Principles, and meekly learn from one another.
An invitation to all
Reasoning Together
Defining the Dispute Regarding the Statement of Principles
November 7–8, 2026 Utah County, Utah
Come reason together as believers—seeking understanding, practicing charitable deliberation, and learning how to move through strong disagreement without anger or condemnation.
Registration closes September 15, 2026
Our guide for the work
“Study to learn how to respect your brothers and sisters and to come together by precept, reason, and persuasion, rather than sharply disputing and wrongly condemning each other, causing anger. Take care how you invoke my name. Mankind has been controlled by the adversary through anger and jealousy, which has led to bloodshed and the misery of many souls. Even strong disagreements should not provoke anger, nor to invoke my name in vain as if I had part in your every dispute. Pray together in humility and together meekly present your dispute to me, and if you are contrite before me, I will tell you my part.”Teachings & Commandments 157:54
Workshop purpose
Before we can seek the Lord’s part, we must understand our dispute.
This workshop is an initial labor to follow the process the Lord outlines. We will reason together as believers in order to acknowledge the disagreement, learn from one another, and seek unity where possible.
Practice together
Prepare in small groups, then use structured and charitable deliberation during the workshop.
Seek unity
Learn to come to agreement through a process grounded in humility, reason, and persuasion.
A plea for helpFrom our covenant family
Dear brothers and sisters,
We are asking for your help.
Before we ask it, however, we want to take accountability for something.
We believe our great failure surrounding the Statement of Principles was not simply a failure of process or a failure to produce a document. We failed one another relationally.
We did not always know how to disagree without dividing, reason without accusing, or defend what we believed to be principle without condemning one another. We hardened into camps. We attributed motives. We spoke sharply. We withdrew. We judged. We allowed disagreement to become alienation.
For whatever part we played in those things, we repent.
We are a small workshop committee, and we, as the writers, have a dispute concerning the original process by which the Statement of Principles was adopted.
Some of us believe that essential parts of the Lord’s instructions for that assignment were not fulfilled. Others in the covenant body believe the assignment was completed and the matter is settled. We understand that many of you may not see what we see. We do not ask you to begin by agreeing with our conclusions.
But there is a fracture among us.
Some believe the assignment was fulfilled; others believe essential parts of the Lord’s instructions remain unresolved. And we don’t know how to heal that fracture by ourselves.
So we are asking you to help us do something we believe the Lord has asked of us:
Reason together.
Rather than asking everyone to debate whether our assessment is correct, we want to go underneath our conclusions and examine the principles by which any of us could evaluate what happened.
01
What is mutual agreement?
02
What does equality require when a covenant body of equals reasons and makes decisions together?
03
What role should urgency have in accomplishing an assignment from the Lord? How do we distinguish faithful diligence from fear-driven haste?
04
How should personal revelation function when a body of equals is seeking to discern something collectively?
05
What constitutes disputation, and how is it different from faithful disagreement?
06
What is a principle?
We need people who disagree with us in these conversations. We do not want to gather a room full of people who already see what we see. We need your perspective, your questions, your wisdom, and your willingness to reason with us.
Perhaps our conclusions will change. Perhaps yours will. Perhaps neither will. Perhaps we will simply understand one another better. We believe any of those outcomes would be better than remaining divided and talking past one another.
We are not asking for another vote. We are not asking for another declaration. We are not asking anyone to concede that our concerns are correct.
We are asking for help.
We believe the Lord asked us to reason together, and we are asking our covenant family to help us learn how to do that again.
Please come reason with us.
The spirit of the workshop
A place to seek understanding—not victory.
This workshop is
- A place to sincerely and meekly deliberate, seeking first to understand
- A place to explore how to resolve disagreement as believers
- A place to practice righteous judgment together
- A place to learn how to govern well together
This workshop is not
- A place to accuse others or undo past progress
- A place to debate in order to win
- A place for emotional processing alone
Code of conduct
How we will care for the conversation.
Every participant is asked to follow these simple commitments so that strong disagreement can remain charitable, useful, and safe for everyone in the room.
Participation expectation: a willingness to follow this Code of Conduct.
- 01
Give undivided attention to whoever has the floor—no side talk or interrupting
- 02
No personal attacks or accusations
- 03
Speak about principles and processes, not people
- 04
Honor time limits
- 05
Allow the moderator to remind and redirect when needed
Your presence and voice are wanted
Come help us learn to reason together again.
Whether you hold strong views on the Statement of Principles or simply desire to learn and help, you are warmly invited.
Pre-register now November 7–8, 2026 Utah County, Utah Register by September 15